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Krejci named Twins' winner of Honorary Bat Girl contest

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By Rhett Bollinger
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MLB.com |

BOSTON -- Cheri Krejci was named the Twins' winner of the 2013 Honorary Bat Girl contest that recognizes baseball fans who have been affected by breast cancer and demonstrate a commitment to eradicating the disease.

Krejci will be recognized by the Twins in a special pregame ceremony before their game against the Orioles on Sunday at Target Field. She'll also receive pink MLB merchandise and two tickets to the game.

Krejci's parents both died of cancer, and in 2010, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a double mastectomy and had to go through chemotherapy and is cancer free. As head of the Blooming Prairie Cancer Group, Krejci has helped raise thousands of dollars. The last several years, this small community of about 2,000 people has donated more than $50,000 each year.

Besides giving the money to further cancer research, they also give money to people in the community stricken with this terrible disease. They help them with daily needs, such as gas cards to help pay for gas to get to treatment and grocery expenses.

The 30 Honorary Bat Girl winners were selected by fan votes on HonoraryBatGirl.com along with feedback from a guest judging panel that included CC Sabathia of the Yankees, Matt Kemp of the Dodgers, Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, Alex Gordon of the Royals, Maria Menounos of Extra TV and Sam Ryan of MLB Network.

The Honorary Bat Girl program was introduced in 2009 to raise additional awareness and support for the annual "Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative celebrated on Mother's Day. In four years, more than 4,000 testimonials have been submitted and more than 10 million fan votes have been cast.